December 18, 2009
DJ Spooky. Download image.
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - UAB's Alys Stephens Center will present "Reflect and Rejoice: A Musical Tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.," at 3 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 17 in the center, 1200 10th Ave. South. Tickets are $20, $15, $10; student tickets are $10. Call 205-975-2787 or go to www.AlysStephens.org.
The Alys Stephens Center continues its tradition of honoring King through music and spoken word. For this community event, UAB's Alys Stephens Center partners with the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute and Alabama Symphony Orchestra (ASO) in a joyous program of music to remember the past and imagine the future.
Performing with the ASO is Paul Miller, also known as DJ Spooky, a composer, multimedia artist and writer whose music crosses a spectrum of styles. His recorded output includes remixes ranging from Wu-Tang Clan to Metallica and Bob Marley, to works with classical and new music legends such as Steve Reich and the Kronos Quartet. Miller has performed in a variety of venues including the Tate Modern, Guggenheim Museum and Herod Atticus Theater at the Acropolis.
"Reflect and Rejoice" will feature Michael Morgan conducting. Currently in his 20th year as music director of Oakland East Bay Symphony, Morgan has appeared as a guest conductor with most major orchestras in the United States and the New York City, St. Louis and Washington National operas. Morgan also is artistic director of Oakland Youth Orchestra, music director of Sacramento Philharmonic, artistic director of Festival Opera in Walnut Creek and artistic advisor to the Peoria Symphony in Illinois, and he teaches the graduate conducting course at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.
The Alabama A&M University Concert Choir also will perform. On the program: J. Rosamund Johnson's "Lift Every Voice and Sing"; "Winds of Change: A Composition and Homage to the NAACP on 100 Years of Change" by Paul Miller, with video; Anthony Paul De Ritis' "Devolution: a Concerto for DJ and Symphony Orchestra"; Alvin Singleton's "After Fallen Crumbs"; a selection from William Dawson's "Negro Folk Symphony," "The Bond of Africa"; Dawson's "Ezekiel Saw the Wheel" and other selections and Robert Ray's "He Never Failed Me Yet." The event also will feature the second annual poetry contest, "Winds of Change." The show is sponsored by The Birmingham News, WBHM and Viva Health.
About UAB's Alys Stephens Center
UAB's Alys Stephens Performing Arts Center is one of the Southeast's premier performing arts centers, hosting the best in international, national and local performance. Home to the UAB departments of Theatre and Music and the Alabama Symphony Orchestra, the ASC also presents its own season, bringing the world's best music, dance, theater, comedy and family entertainment to Alabama.